IQAir - HealthPro Series

I would recommend - IQAir health pro series - using it for over a year. Pretty happy with it.

IqAir, Austin, Levoit They are all running right now at home. Visitors often tell me the house smells very clean and pure. I have a Levoit 300 by the front door. Levoit 600 in the living room. Austin on the kitchen counter in the corner by the stove. An IqAir in my master. A Levoit 300 in another bedroom. MPR 300 filters for my HVAC.

I’ve had IQAirs for many years and they make a big difference in our house air quality.

I got my first through a local store, but now I buy from them directly and have had good experiences. I started buying direct when the local place stopped carrying the filters and I tried buying replacement filters from Amazon. Don’t use Amazon. They sent me someone’s used filters, which was disgusting. I bought the Health Pro series. They’re expensive, large, and if you have them on highest level, they’re noisy, but if anyone in your house has allergies or is immunocompromised, they’re so worth it. I run them on the lower settings most of the time. The filters last for two years and they’re the only air cleaners that I’ve ever had where we notice when they’re off. ETA: I’m so sorry if the under $500 was there when I replied with IQair in my first post. They’re not under $500. I didn’t see it if it was. Rabbit is a brand my friend’s allergist recommended and she was happy when she bought one. I think those were cheaper. I haven’t tried those. She uses the Rabbit one in her bedroom because it’s quieter and the IQair where her dogs hang out.

As others have said: IQAir… we have three of these (3500 sq ft house).. we set the timer to crank up the speed overnight, run on low during the day. Main thing is that these go WAY beyond basic HEPA, and our allergies noticed the difference immediately. We spent a lot of money on various HEPA filters with mixed results until we found these. They are medical grade filters. Austin Air offers a unit with 30 pounds of charcoal, so that’s an option too, if you are concerned about VOCs. But it seems like the small particulates in wildfire smoke is the bad stuff. Good luck and stay safe!

I have severe (toxic) mold exposure and respiratory issues. I do not have a diagnosis of asthma, however. I can’t recommend based on asthmatic needs, but I can recommend based on chronic conditions and personal use. My choice would be the IQAir, especially, for you, if you can do the multipack deal with one gas exchange and one Health Pro in the same room. Expensive, but I think you would get pristine air every 15 minutes, particularly on setting 6, and particularly if you use HEPA filtered household chore items (vacuum, dusters, etc.).

These are the 3 air filters I personally have. Most air filters only get down to 0.3 microns; these get down to 0.003 microns, which captures mold - which is my main concern - as well as viruses, bacteria, etc.  AirDoctor IQAir AirOasis I also have a Levoit that I like but doesn't capture as small of stuff as the ones above.

So here's the thing - no matter what anyone tells you, there is no magic box that will do what you want. Air purifiers move air at relatively low speeds through a fairly restrictive filter. That means that they only "clean" an area of about 300sqft. around the unit effectively. They are almost universally ineffective through doorways, around corners, etc. If you have HVAC, the single best thing you can do is put a better filter in and run it on "always on" (not "circulate" or "auto", but ON). The best filter for a 1" insert (the most common) is a 3M Filtrete 1900. They're $20. The problem is they clog quickly, so you'll likely have to replace them every 30-60 days. That said, it'll cover your whole house. If you don't have HVAC, you could consider an AirFanta or building your own CR box. They're ugly and loud, but they move a lot of air. Again, I'd use those 3M filters if you want to stop smoke. Dust and other allergens, any ol' filter will do. The "traditional" route would also be to put several purifiers in your home, sized appropriately for the rooms - a large one for the open living space, and smaller ones for the bedrooms. I have the following setup: 1st floor, 1000 sqft, semi-open plan: I have an IQ Air and an Austin running at opposite corners of the home on a constant speed of medium. 2nd floor (bedrooms, also 1000 sqft): Master bedroom has a Coway 250, guest bedroom has a Winix 5500-2, both kids' bedrooms have Blueair 411's. Finished Basement (also 1000 sqft): Coway Mighty and Winix 5500-2 at opposite ends, running as needed (since the basement gets less outside air) and the one bedroom down there has an aging but still functional HEPA from Idyllis/3M (the Lowes brand) that was purchased years ago but uses 3M HEPA filters. IN ADDITION, I use MERV13 in my furnace and my ERV. The air here is VERY CLEAN. (Bad allergies run in the family...)